Just Your Average, Upstanding Dark Lord
by Patwas-Potter
Summary: Important Author Note - Please Read. The thoughts and ramblings of your neighbourly Dark Lord. There's a silver lining to every cloud, things aren't as Dark as they seem.
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: Hi all. I decided to write this on the spur of the moment, wbhilst recovering from the sudden release of mental strain that comes with completing the end of year exams. It's not a story as such, more of a series of thoughts and ideas, with hopefully a bit of humour thrown in, though I doubtI'm much good at that. Some of you might find this rather philosophical, and hopefully it'll give you food for thought. I honestly didn't set out to try to make a point, but if that's the result than I suppose it's an added bonus. Don't expect this to be long, and it's just co-incidence that it's set in this time period. There are no particular spoilers for this, if you've read any of the Harry Potter books, you're all set. Let me know what you think, if you have a moment, it's nice to know your work is being read.

**Chapter 1.**

Hello. My name is Tom. Some people call me Voldemort, others the Dark Lord. Yet more call me He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. But my real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. However, if you ever use my middle name I'll hex your balls off so completely you'll never be able to reprocriate. Now, if you are a Muggle, that won't be that much of a problem. You see, apparently I'm supposed to hate you all, so the fact that there would never be a next generation won't cause much concern. If you are a wizard on the other hand, well let's just say stabbing myself in the foot isn't my idea of fun. I can't very well have my future army destined for world domination cut down before my eyes, now can I?

Now in case you didn't realise, today is September 1st. For many people this is the day they look forward to, the first day of a new month, the day their pay cheques are cleared and the day they can raid the shops like a swarm of rampaging hippogriffs. For others, today is a milestone on their calenders the first day of Autumn, a day which they can spend watching the leaves falling from the trees, where they can enjoy the wonderful colours produced by this annual event. But for a small minority, this is the dawn of a new year. Yes, my dears, for those between the ages of eleven and seventeen, today is the start of a new session at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the seat of the resistance and prime example of peace and harmony on the Light Side.

They're such simple terms, Light and Dark, don't you think? It makes everything seem so straightforward and clear-cut. But you would honestly have to be blind not to realise that this is not the case, that everything is not just either black or white, that there are countless shades of grey in between. That bumbling idiot Albus Dumbledore, you might have heard of him, he once said that it is our choices that make us who we are. That may very well be true, but the word choice implies that you take the rest of the world into account, which includes the people around you. Loathed as I am to mention it, a Muggle once said that life is short. Okay, so for us witches and wizards it isn't that short, quite long actually, but I digress. Honestly, beating around the bush like this, people will think I've gone soft. Ha! A soft Dark Lord! Who ever heard of such a thing? but where was I? Ah yes, choice. What good does it do us if we take the rest of the world into account but fail to think about ourselves? How will we ever get anywhere if we never pay attention to what we want? No, power is the basis of everything. There are only two types of people, the powerful and the weak. Only with power can one rise to the top of the ladder.

But getting back to the point, today is September 1st, the start of a new year, both for them, and for me.


	2. Chapter 2

Author Note: I've changed the plan for this drabble somewhat. Rather than making it a story as such, I'm going to turn it into some kind of fictional moral guidebook. There'll be a moral for each chapter, but I'll try to make it as un-serious as possible. Let me know how I do.

Chapter 2

There are three types of events in the world. Those that are all flamboyant, with lots of flashes and bangs, those that are just about average, and those that, well frankly you probably don't even know about as they're subtle and really noticed. Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking he's a big, bad Dark Lord; surely he's bound to go for the first? And in a way you're right and in a way you're quite wrong. You see, flashes and bangs can be used to great effect, as that muggle-loving bumblebee should very well know, with his ever so holier-than-thou speeches and three-in-one spells, but being un-noticed is also a valuable trait. Indeed, I could hardly have gotten to where I am now if I'd have stormed my way through life with all the subtlety of a rampaging hippogriff, now could I? You see, there was a matron at the orphanage I used to stay at (and by the way if you ever mention that nasty episode to a single soul I'll curse you so bad you'll be wishing for death faster than you can scream STOP!) who used to tell me, Morgana only knows why, that patience was a virtue. And loathed as I am to give muggles, the scourge of the earth, any credit at all, I have to say she was right. Only this once mind you, but she was right. Patience is indeed something to be treasured, it's something that sadly all too many people lack these days, and of course I don't include myself in that number, oh of course not no. But for now I must go, but don't worry, your neighbourly Dark Lord won't be too far away, we might even meet up sooner than you think. Now "WORMTAIL, GET YOUR LAZY RAT BEHIND IN HER NOW! I DON'T HAVE TIME TO WAIT!" Grrrr, you see, the idiots I must put up with, no concept of patience!


	3. Notice

Hello.

This is an advisory note being posted on all my stories. All stories are being revamped from the ground up. It has been nearly three years since I started writing, and I've naturally changed both as a person and in my style of writing over that period. Also, I've changed my mind on many of the plot lines I wanted to work on, and the release of the last two HP books have a lot to do with that.

This is to advise all my readers that I am in no way giving up on my writing. In fact, now that the HP series is officially over, I think this gives me an even greater opportunity to write some truly awesome fanfiction without more official sequels being published and taking some of the value of what I have to write.

I will leave this note here until the first of the new chapters is ready for release. I was originally intending to simply delete all my stories but then realised that, although I've been a less than stellar author, there are some out there that truly appreciate what I've done thus far, and I wanted to leave this work here as a reminder of what's gone before and the reviews I've received that have really inspired me to keep at it.

I am now starting the second session of a one-year Masters that ends in June 2009. Then, depending on my achieved grades, I'll move onto a dissertation culminating in my finishing class in September and graduating in November. There are busy times ahead, which along with other social commitments will place strong demands on my time. I'm also working on my own non-fanfiction novel. What this all means is that I have a lot of ideas swirling around in my head, a lot of things I want to do and less time than I'd like to do them in. So please, just bear with me - I'll get there in the end. I'm always up for a chat about my writing or anything in general, and if you therefore want to contact me individually to give me a gentle nudge there, or just to catch up, I'd love to hear from you.

Finally, thank you. Thank you for sticking with me. There are so many stories on both this site and others, many, which are significantly more developed and time-worthy, then mine. Sometimes, it's quite a blow to morale to realise you're just one of thousands of authors out there vying for readers' attention. In addition, with so many different plot lines having been investigated and written about, it's hard to not repeat something that's gone before, and to make your own work really original and praise-worthy. This is something I'm desperately trying to aim for, and where your support and encouragement has meant a lot to me.

Thanks again, and see you soon.

Best,

Hussein.


	4. Important Author Note

EDIT: I have placed a poll on my profile page for those that wish to vote anonymously. If you haven't done so already, please read the note below for a full explanation of what I'm talking about. Thanks for your time.

**Important Author Note – Where do we go from here?**

Hello All.

Cliché I know, but firstly please accept my sincere apologies for the unacceptably long delay in updating this and all my other stories. Apologies especially to those that were kind enough to spare a moment to review, or add me to their favourite/watch lists. Trust me when I say that this means a lot to me, and that I've relished your reviews, criticisms and advice.

If you've got this far, please read to the end. I'm going to explain what's going on, and then give you, my readers, and a choice.

I'm still just as committed to Harry Potter and these stories, as I was when I started writing years ago. In fact, as time has passed, I've had even more ideas about where I want the plots to go, and I really do believe I can make something worthwhile out of them. I have several scenes from different stories that I've worked on now and again, which I would hope to fit into the final versions.

Having said that, real life has kept me from writing, and for once, the excuse isn't a lack of time but health issues. I suffer from ever worsening Reynaud's in my fingers. In short, it's a constriction of the blood vessels in the fingers that cause them to go ice cold, and then leave me in agony for hours as they warm up again. Anything less than it being positively sweltering causes an attack to surface, so you can imagine the weather we've had of late has not been conducive to my feeling all that great. Sometimes I'll catch a break for a few hours, at other times I'll be practically living in bed for weeks (as was the case most recently in November 2009). To anyone unfortunate enough to suffer from this, you know what I mean. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, and what's really soul destroying is that it stops me from doing just the things I enjoy the most. Also, as I'm partially sighted, the computer, and thus my fingers are my lifeline. Therefore, you can hopefully understand why I try to prioritise on the most important activities during what pain-free time I do get.

I'm not just writing for the sake of it, but because I genuinely enjoy it, and thus I want to take the time to make the best of it that I can. If that involves writing half a dozen drafts of a chapter, so be it. So, whereas I could dash off a University essay in a few hours and be happy with it, chapters for my stories do take significantly longer to take form.

Because of this, and because I know how frustrating it is to see stories which seem as though they may be a good read later on just seem to fizzle out and die with no update for months on end, I thought it was only fair for me to give you the chance to choose where I go from here. I see the following possibilities:

1. I can stop all my stories here and give them up for adoption. I'd hope whoever took them on would be just as passionate about them as I am, and I'd still be honoured to have some input in tossing ideas around, but they would have the final word and set the schedule, etc. I'd be happy to hand over my notes and unwritten scenes to the adopter. Whereas being credited as the original creator would be nice, I won't insist on it, as I don't believe I have the right.

2. I can stop all my stories here and remove them from the site. I don't suppose there's much point in having something online that isn't going anywhere. Whether I start up again in the future with either a totally new story, a story that merges parts of those I've already worked on, or not at all, would have to be seen.

3. I can continue to work on the stories at my own pace, but I would be unable to promise any timescales for updates. There's just no way of saying what the health will do from one day to the next. Also, whereas I've now finished with university as of October 2009, I'm still in the process of pressing a formal complaint due to grievances with the way the course ended. Also, I'm now coming under pressure to find a job, which could be anytime, or not for a long while. I suppose it helps that I won't get my official results until February and papers until July.

There's not much more to add, but as I said before I feel that as I'm not just writing for myself, I owe it to my readers to let them decide the fate of what's published here. I'll leave this open for a fortnight or so, maybe a little longer, before I decide myself. Please let me know your thoughts in a review or by mail or private message if you prefer.

Thanks, and sorry once again.

P.S: I had Alphabeat 'Spell' and Abba 'The Winner Takes It All' playing in the background whilst I dashed this off. Both are great songs, if a little melancholy, but they seem to fit the mood.

EDIT: As of 14 January 2010 I have 5 votes for option 3 above. I mention this only as the votes may have been deleted whilst this note was updated.


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